Best thriller movie factual errors of 1981

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Body Heat picture

Factual error: Under US law neither Peter Lowenstein nor Oscar Grace would be allowed any level of participation in the investigation, arrest and prosecution of Ned Racine. Both have a highly visible social relationship with him, which disqualifies them from having anything to do with a criminal case against him. In fact as soon as he became a suspect in Edmund Walker's murder they would both be officially 'warned off' - told not to contact him again for any reason.

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Time Bandits picture

Factual error: When the Titanic sinks all six dwarves and Kevin end up in the sea clutching a lifebelt. The water in which the Titanic sank was freezing - that is how most of the casualties died, by freezing, not drowning. In water like that you'd be lucky to stay conscious for more than a few minutes. Despite this none of them show the slightest effect of the cold. Maybe the dwarves have some 'magical' ability to withstand lethal cold, but Kevin doesn't even react to being plunged into freezing cold water. He'd be screaming in pain, but he doesn't even show the slightest sign of discomfort.

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Halloween II picture

Factual error: At the end of the film where the blinded Michael is swinging his scalpel aimlessly, it makes loud "swooshing" sounds. This is pure fantasy. I have personally mimicked what Michael did using similar small scalpels and even larger knives without almost no sound when swinging them.

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For Your Eyes Only picture

Factual error: In the pre-credit sequence with Bond and Blofeld, the helicopter makes a steep dive. However, the sound it makes is for a fixed-wing airplane, similar to dive bombers in WW2. Helicopters make no such sound.

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An American Werewolf in London picture

Factual error: Though it's set in England, hospital personnel use American terms like "charts" and "orderly". In any British hospital these should be "case notes" and "porter", respectively .

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Escape From New York picture

Factual error: The wrestler is killed by Snake stabbing the back of his head with a spiked bat, having rather long and thick spikes on it. As the Wrestler falls against the net, the back of his head is shown as he is slumped over the net. There is no wound on his head, nor any trace of blood, despite having one or more large spikes just jammed into it. (01:16:55)

Quantom X

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Southern Comfort picture

Factual error: In the boat-stealing scene, when the machine gunner fires a burst of blanks out of the M60 at the Cajuns, the weapon functions perfectly. However, the muzzle is bare. When firing with blanks, weapons have to have metal pieces called blank adaptors screwed into the muzzle to keep enough gas inside the weapon to cycle the bolt. Without one, the M60 would fire one round and stop.

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Mad Max 2 picture

Factual error: There's no way the gyro helicopter could carry 2 men and four jerrycans of petrol across a desert. It is only built for one person and would never lift off. And where would they put the second person and petrol anyway?

Gavin Jackson

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X-Ray picture

Factual error: Right after the opening credits, captions say "Susan's house - 1961." And right afterwards, the model train runs by two cigar boxes, one of Dunhill n.25 (seemingly one of the later designs of the box) and the other of "Joya de Nicaragua", a brand founded in 1968. (00:01:25)

Sammo

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Death Hunt picture

Factual error: The spotter pilot is Captain Tucker of the Royal Canadian Air Force. But the RCAF of the 1930s used RAF ranks. He would actually be a Flight Lieutenant.

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